


You Fell Through The Gaps Between My Fingers

by GreenhouseNurse



Series: Infinite Stardust [1]
Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Daredevil (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alien Planet, Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Spoilers, Flashbacks, Gen, Grief, Hurt No Comfort, Infinity War, Minor Character Death, POV Minor Character, Panic Attacks, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Relationships Only Mentioned - Freeform, Whump, alien with hivemind-like characteristics, its hinted heavily for several characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-05-05 03:51:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14608677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenhouseNurse/pseuds/GreenhouseNurse
Summary: Some vanished. And these are their stories.Some were left behind. These are their stories as well.





	1. May

**Author's Note:**

> Suffer with me.

Ben and May are there when Peter's parents are lowered into the ground. Peter is far to young to understand, but Ben and May grieve. In time they move on.

* * *

 

Peter and May decide to have Ben cremated. On their budget, it's all they can afford. May tries to keep going. She cooks, she works, she reads, she keeps moving forward. Peter moves upwards towards the skyline.

* * *

 

May opens the front door to Tony Stark and the smell of dust. There is no burial because there is nothing to bury. There is no cremation, because there is nothing to burn. Peter is stardust and Peter is a shadow. Peter is memory and Peter is an empty bedroom that was supposed to be cleaned by this weekend. Peter is the silence where there shouldn't be.


	2. Little Sister

A girl plays frisbee with her older brother in an open field. He tosses and the shot goes over her head before she has a chance to grasp it. She turns and runs to where it has landed and with plastic disc in hand she spins back around to toss it to her brother.  
  
But when she does, there's nobody there.


	3. Little Brother

A man is visiting his brother, whom he hasn't seen in five years. They laugh and reminisce about childhood. His brother walks to the kitchen to grab a couple of beers.  
  
There is the sound of clinking bottles. There is a rattling breath. There is an exhale and the shattering of glass.  
  
The man runs to kitchen and he inhales the scent of cheap beer and ash.  
  
Dust swirls in the air and his brother is nowhere to be seen.


	4. Family Pride

The sound of a bell rings as they enter the coffee shop. They head to the backroom and tie an apron around their waist. It smells of old coffee grounds, pastries, and college savings.

They almost have enough. Enough to pay for at least a year of courses. Maybe it's not a bigtime university, but it's college and they are going to be the first in their family to attend. 

They smile so wide that their face begins to hurt.

As they turn to exit the backroom and begin their workday, the air suddenly leaves their lungs. The atmosphere goes cold and it feels like there are ants crawling beneath their skin. 

Frightened, they reach out toward the door.

And they watch as their hand dissoves.

And then their arm.

And then it is dark.

And then there is nothing.


	5. Unnoticeable

A man sleeps in a dirty alleyway where society abandoned him. In the morning he is gone, his particles carried away on the wind. No one notices his absence. 

The city moves on. It always has.


	6. Barton

*beep* "Aunt Nat?! Something's happened. Something bad. I- I was with dad and he just dissapeared. I don't know what's happening? I'm heading to the house but I need you to come. I know I'm not- I know I'm not supposed to touch dad's phone but I'm scared. I'm scared Aunt Nat. I-" *beep*

* * *

*beep* "H-hey Aunt Nat? I can't find mom. I looked everywhere. I don't know what's happening. Please come Aunt Nat?! I'm still looking for Lila and Nathie, but hurry. Please hurry." *beep*

* * *

*beep* "I can't find them?! I can't- I don't understand?! Everyone's gone! I'm alone and I- Auntie Nat ple-please pick u-up I-" *beep*

* * *

 

*beep* "...are you gone too Aunt Nat?..." *beep*

* * *

*beep* "..." *beep*

* * *

*beep* "..." *beep*

* * *

*beep* "...hey-..." *beep*

* * *

[New Message]

[Natasha]: I'm coming for you. It's going to be alright.


	7. Murdock

He can't hear Foggy's heartbeat.

He can't hear Karen's hearbeat.

He can't hear Claire's heartbeat.

He can't hear the traffic.

He can't hear the neighbor coughing three floors down.

He can't hear Father Lantom at his Pulpit.

He can't hear the argument that abruptly ceased the next building over.

He can't hear the cooing infant and her mother in the apartment across the hall.

But God, he can hear his own racing heartbeat. 

He can hear his lungs as they hyperventilate.

He can hear his tears as the crash against the floor.

He can hear the vibrations of his entire body as panic takes over, because they are gone.

They are gone.

They are gone.

They are gone.

The air is filled with something that hurts to breathe in and lights up the room as if it is drowned in fire.

They are gone.

They are gone.

And the Lord knows that there is nothing that neither Matt Murdock nor the Devil himself can do to change it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just started watching Daredevil. Bare with me on any inaccuracies.


	8. Off The Grid

A small house in rural Mexico. No neighbors. No loud cars. No people to call him. No lines to call in on.

A small house far away from the chaos of Mexico City. Away from choking smog. Away from civilization. Away from cable and an outside connection.

It's just him and the fire ants invading his garden.

And if something were to happen today, it's not his problem. Not anymore.

The sun rises. The sun bakes the earth. The sun sets. Dust blows in from the north.

He wakes up the next morning and begins his day.

'Life is good,' he thinks to himself.

Yeah. Life is good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory person who notices nothing and feels none of the consequences. Also my phone broke today.


	9. Stark

Everything has gone to hell. Thanos had succeeded and now they had to find a way to regroup and try to stop further damage from occurring.

Tony should feel angry. Instead he feels numb. He feels cold and numb and he feels the shifting of the grit that was peter between his finger and in the creases of his palms.

_"I don't feel so good."_

Romanoff's voice. The smell of New York. An atmosphere thick with dust. Not red like mars, but shifting gray in the breeze turning the world into an impressionist nightmare. Romanoff says something about Barton. About a kid. He doesn't know. A hand grasp his shoulder.

_"I don't wanna go."_

His lungs are filled with Peter. His lungs are filled with a dead kid not yet out of high school. His lungs are full of someone who has an aunt waiting for them to come home whole. To come home safe an alive. Tony hold in his breath as long as he can because it's all he can do.

_"I don't want to go. Sir please, please I-"_

He killed Peter. He gave him a suit and he gave him hope and then he ferried Peter to his death. He led a lamb to slaughter and there is no blood on his hands because there would have to be blood left over. Ash falls between his fingers and the air escapes his lungs. Peter floats on the wind again and Tony follows him. Tony guides his ashes, guides what is left of Peter back home.

_"I'm sorry."_

Tony knocks on May Parker's door. And when it opens, he doesn't know what to say.


	10. Remainder One

She was hatched into a world where she could feel everyone and everything. Not quite a hive mind, because her choices were her own, and she grew into an unruly child with her own agenda. Her Hatch-Mother could not control her spirit.

No, it was more of a connection of souls. She could feel a never ending web of tugging strings from the others of her kind. Even if the left the planet, the soul strings shifted and pointed to where they resided. It was a way to come back and a way to connect. It was never being alone and a reminder that there was always a place to return to.

She was hatched on a world full of beings with skin as clear as star-sand glass, bio-luminescent life blood, and eyes black as the dead space they gazed up to to welcome those who returned.

And she was a heart never empty.

* * *

A hand of metal, stones, and death reached through the cosmos. 

It grasped the strings.

And they tore.

* * *

It was so quiet. Her bright blue planet, now a dull grey as dust shifted through the winds. 

Her tiny feet run across the surface of her dead planet, and she tugs and tugs at where the strings should be.

Hatch-Mother does not tug back.

Hatch-Mates do not tug back.

Heart-Mate does not tug back.

Planet-Connections do not tug back.

She runs and runs and the chittering sound of her language rings from her throat, but no one answers. The dust swirls around her, above her, blocking out the three moons.

She looks to the sky and she tugs and she tugs.

Traveler-Connections do not tug back.

She is only eight star turns of age. Eight star turns of age and her people will die with her.

She screams.

* * *

She was born on a world that is now silent. She feels hollow. 

She feels empty.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aliens exist in the MCU so I decided to write for one.


	11. Odinson

A child snaps their fingers. It is an action so minor, so harmless, and yet Thor hears the sound and it rings through his skull like a gunshot.

_And he hears metal snap of metal, the wet sound of lungs filling with blood and and almost inaudible laughter, the opening of a portal and then the air shifts and-_

A child snaps their fingers and as they walk by, as they sing a tune, Thor stops and he forgets how to breathe.

* * *

A branch snaps as Thor and the remaining Avengers travel through the undergrowth, laying low until they reach safety. It echos through the trees and through his mind like a final judgement.

_Hands grasp around his brother's neck and squeeze, and he hears a wet crack ring off metal, and he smells blood and smoke and Múspellsheimr. He hears the piercing of flesh and-_

A hand drags him the rest of the way to the safe-haven. Maybe someone speaks, but he wouldn't know anything besides the snapping of branches.

* * *

The color purple makes his skin crawl. And green... green makes Thor feel like dying.

* * *

_Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Crack. Crack. Snap. Crack. Crack. Crack. Snap. Cra-_

* * *

Thunder. It follows the crack of lightning. It rumbles deep and heavy and healing. It is the only reason that Thor can still wield his power. 

_Snap. Crack. Rumble._

Breathe easy.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Bide time. Plan.

Outlive everyone he's ever loved.

_Snap. Crack. Rumble._

.

.

.

Boom.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i finally saw infinity war and am no longer working with spoilers only...
> 
> ...yeah


	12. Keener

Harley Keener has officially decided that Biology is the worst class ever. The Krebs cycle is evil. It makes no sense to begin with, but with the heat beginning to rise in Tennessee his brain is officially cooked, and everything Mrs. Reshner has taught in the last thirty-five minutes has evaporated from his brain.

He looks to his left where E.J. sits balancing a pencil on his upper lip. The pencil falls as he turns to peer back at Harley with glazed over eyes.

" _Kill me,_ " he mouths silently and Harley snickers.

The sound of chalk hitting the ground echoes through the muggy classroom. It does nothing to snap the students out of their stupor.

The fearful choking sound that suddenly comes from Mrs. Reshner's lips does.

When Harley looks up he isn't quite sure what he is seeing. Because what he is seeing can't be right, this must be the heat.

But another student screams, and it confirms that yes, Mrs. Reshner is disintegrating into ash in front of the classroom. A panicked wail wrenches from her throat before she is gone completely.

It's quiet for a moment, the room clouding with dust and confusion. And then Martha Ryan, who sits in the front row, begins to turn to dust.

That is when the fear kicks in. Harley's desk clatters as he shoots out of it, and he yanks a paralyzed E.J. out of his desk and drag him out of the room.

"What the fuck?! Keener, what the fuck?! She just- They're turning to dust," E.J. stammers out choking on words, trying to make his legs work.

"E.J. move your legs!"

"Oh God. Oh God Almight-"

"MOVE!"

Harley looks back to the classroom one last time, and through the doorway he sees only dust.

They escape the dust filled school and they try to breathe.

* * *

What few students are left have gathered at the front of the school. They huddle in groups, as if trying to protect themselves from an unseen enemy. 

Dust covers their hair and their skin and their clothes. The coughing is constant as they all try to dislodge their former classmates from their lungs. E.J. cries silently, tears clearing trails of dust from his face. Fear keeps him still, afraid to move, afraid to speak.

Harley calls his family. He calls and calls and calls. The voicemail tone is an omen of death.

There is one number he has not called yet. It's his last resort.

He dials and he prays.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to Ao3 user Lexicona for suggesting some sweet prompts!


	13. First Born

The Avengers facility becomes a safe haven for Harley Keener and three of his classmates that have no where else to go. The other three hold on to eachother emotionally and a tight-knit group forms within a day. Survival instincts. Trauma. Loneliness. It binds them.

Harley Keener follows Stark. He seemed so much taller when they first met. But this Stark is small, quiet, and made of frayed nerves. This Stark smells like dust. 

* * *

Peter is gone. His kid -because somewhere along the way Peter became his kid- is gone. It's hard to move forward, but Harley is on his heels, an engine ignited with fury and passion, and he is forced to accelerate through the numbness.

Harley has his friends in his lungs and Tony has Peter in his. Harley breathes them out like dragon smoke and Tony sees himself, a far younger self, in his kid.

His kid. First born, even if not by blood. 

Tony breathes out Peter. Peter became his son somewhere along the way, but so did Harley. And right now, his first is still here and breathing. He will come for Peter, but for now Harley comes first.

 

 

 


	14. A Tug And A Pull

She doesn't know how long she's been alone on her dead planet. Three moons circle over a dust filled sky, like unblinking eyes set into the dark face of the endless void. 

Her world is quiet save for the sound of her breathing, and she thinks she may be at the beginnings of madness. She is starting to hallucinate the tugging of strings, but these are unknown to her. They are fake and uncertain and she knows they are a dream.

She knows she is in a nightmare. She knows more than she should for her age.

* * *

When she wakes the foreign strings tug harder and she cries because they can't be real, that would be cruel, because what would she say...

And yet the sound of pulsing anti-gravity propulsors carry through the air and she decides to hang on to this dream.

Tiny feet touch the ground and she carries herself out into the light of the dead world, moon eyes watching. There is shouting, footsteps, a soft voice, soft hands, and a tug and a pull.

"-ild. Hatch-child. Hey, little one. Look at me."

A kind voice. New string. Not alone. Not alone? She doesn't understand.

"Where did you find her?"

Another voice. Another string.

"She just came out of one of the lower burrows. She's so small, she probably couldn't feel us so far out. Did you find anyone else?"

"No bodies. Nothing...did she say?"

"...Little one, where is everyone else?"

Real. Crystal skin. Glowing blood. Universe eyes. Real. A tug and a pull. 

"Can you tell us?"

She looks them in the eyes, then crouches grabbing handfulls of dust from the ground and holds it out to her new strings. 

"I- don't understand child." 

Warm voice. Confused voice.

She steps forward and presses the dust to New String's heart. Then she holds it to her own. She cannot find her words but she hopes they understand. It takes a few moments of questioning silence before now tense hands grasp her own, and shakily pry them open to reveal the dust. 

"...no."

New String stands and takes in the dusty dead world, wearing a face filled with unrestrained grief. The Other String looks numb.

* * *

She leaves the planet and the further she gets, new strings she has never felt before thread their way into her heart.

She tugs and pulls.

Hatch-Mother does not tug back.

Hatch-Mates do not tug back.

Heart-Mate does not tug back.

Planet-Connections do not tug back.

New connections tug and pull.

New String tugs and pulls.

Other String tugs and pulls.

As they pass the Three Moons, she wails, her heart swirling with grief and hope.

Three Moons watch as she leaves.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alien child is back. And she's not as alone as she thought.


	15. Lang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for ant man 2

He hangs like a puppet in a shifting void. The Quantum Realm is a shattered microcosm of the larger world, comprised of ambient sound, static, and a kaleidoscope view of the unreachable outside. He is tired, and he is weak. Time is a construct that does not exist here and yet the moments feel like eternity. 

Here in this microfissure of reality, Scott floats. In the sound of repetitive static there is the lack of human speech. Not like when he could hear Cassie. Not like the first time. 

His panicked screams meld with the dissonace. And although he raws his throat and empties his lungs, he will not be heard. 

Scott will not be heard for a very long time to come.

* * *

Dust shifts in a room. Drums beat. Mandibles click. 

A daughter is missing her father.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running on spoilers as well. Bear with me.


End file.
